Tuesday, April 22, 2014

On Monday morning (April 7th) at 3:23 AM,
a man was walking down Becerra Way (with a gas can) toward Whitney Ave,
coming from the direction of Cowan. Shortly before he entered our
driveway, a car turned onto Becerra from Whitney Ave. The driver saw the
man walking, made a U turn down by Cowan, then stopped in front of our
house and put their hazard lights on. The car then stayed there for a
few minutes. The man ran away toward Whitney Ave. Before the car came
back and stopped, the man had removed the gas cap on our truck and was
attempting to syphon gas. The man was not successful. THANK YOU to the
good Samaritan!! What perfect timing!! (We had just filled the tank the
night before.)

It
is a great feeling that the people in our neighborhood are staying
aware, choosing to take action and looking out for each other. Much
appreciated!

As always, if they try it in a nearby neighborhood, Del Paso Manor should be on the watch, too. With gas prices high again, it's likely we'll see similar things.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

The rear windows of a neighbor's truck were broken out. It's suspected that a spring-loaded center punch was used to shatter the safety glass. Tools valued at over $600 were stolen from the truck. The thieves appear to have been aware that the vehicle was alarmed and so accessed the tools through the rear extended cab windows to avoid setting it off (note to thieves: some car alarms are shock sensitive, so accessing through rear windows will still set off the alarm). Neighborhood consensus is that this theft might be related to a known problem house at 2612 Butano.

Suspicious Person/Activity

Thursday Morning (April 3rd) at approximately 8:15 AM

A neighbor walking home from DPM school with a friend noticed an unfamiliar woman in the access area to the DPMWD well near Kings Way, Maryal and Marilona. The woman was standing alone and texting. The neighbor found the location of the woman suspicious and so called the Sheriff's Department. A patrol vehicle was seen about a half hour later at approximately 8:45 AM, but no further information is available. Chuck adds a helpful suggestion: If you've called the Sheriff's Department, you may ask for a disposition of the call and they will return your call and let you know what they found or did.

Suspicious Vehicle (DPM School Parking Lot at Avalon/Maryal)

Wednesday Morning (April 2nd) at approximately 4:45 AM

While out on an early morning walk, a neighbor noticed a vehicle in the DPM parking lot near the tennis courts. It was occupied by a female, and no one else was seen in or around the vehicle at that time. After the neighbor passed and was proceeding toward Kings Way, the vehicle started and proceeded up Maryal. As the vehicle approached the neighbor, a previously unobserved or previously not present passenger rolled down the window and yelled at the resident. This passenger was a black male adult. The vehicle was described as a white or silver hatchback, possibly a Subaru. It had no rear license plate (note that this merits a call to the Sheriff's Department immediately, as that's not legal and probably indicates a stolen vehicle). The car proceeded west on Kings Way.

Suspicious Activity

Wednesday, April 2nd at approximately 1:00 AM on Carrisa (mid-block)

Several neighbors were alerted by noises and the activation of a motion-activated floodlight (quick note--these are wonderful, if you can afford to install them in darker areas around your home, please do and help make the neighborhood safer). No one was observed, but it was apparent there was an intruder.

Suspicious Person/Activity

Sunday, March 30th at approximately 5:00 PM on Kino St.

A black male adult wearing a red and white sports jacket was walking on Kino and was stopped by a neighbor who conversed with him. The man walked up and down the street and entered the property of an absent resident. The neighbor then reengaged the man and advised him that he was unfamiliar in the neighborhood and should leave before the Sheriff's Department was called. The man left. (Note: Please do call the Sheriff's Department and report the incident anyway. Reports will lead to increased patrols in our neighborhood, which helps suppress this kind of activity.)

NOTE:If you see any activity that seems suspicious to you, please call the Sheriff's Department's non-emergency number, 874-5115. Naturally if you see a crime in progress, call 911. It can be dangerous to engage an unfamiliar suspicious person, so use caution if you feel you must and leave it to the Sheriff's Deputies if possible.

Per Chuck, we're seeing more criminal activity in our neighborhood after a bit of a break. Vigilance is key to stopping that and making it clear to criminals that our neighborhood is not a good place to commit crimes. Always use caution investigating suspicious situations, and don't hesitate to call the Sheriff's Department. They're the professionals trained in dealing with these situations.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Two Incidents in the DPM Neighborhood:

Car Burglary

Last Wednesday (03/26/2014)), a car on the 2600 block of Watson St. (near Eastern Avenue) was broken into. The owner believes the car was locked. No windows were smashed and there were no signs of forced entry. New golf clubs were stolen as was insurance paperwork.

Car Theft

Today (Thursday 04/03/2014) a family on Verna Way went out to find their Black 1996 Nissan Sentry GXE stolen. It may have happened overnight.

Cowan Group:

Hello neighbors,

Two incidents that happened on Saturday night.

Both great examples of looking out for each other.

Please see emails below.

Just
wanted to let you know that our truck that was parked in our driveway
(Woodcrest and Eastwood) was broken into last night sometime between 10 pm and 9am
this morning. The back passenger window was smashed to gain access
and they tore apart our dash to take the in dash gps/radio module.
They didn't touch anything else that was in the cab, including power
tools. Seems they knew what they were doing and exactly what they
wanted.

A alert and nice neighbor called me this morning to say she had noticed
two vehicles parked on our property on Robertson Avenue. I called the
sheriff then we drove to the house.

At
least one of the vehicles was stolen. A man and a woman were arrested
for possession of stolen property and trespassing. The two individuals
were sleeping in the car(s) and did not break into the house.

The sheriff officers responded in a timely manner and were very professional.